Nothing As It Seems
by Kelrazy
Summary: This story is based on the Labyrinth with a different ending. Sarah doesn't make it in time to save Toby. She defeats the Labyrinth, but fails in the room of stairs. At the Last minute she offers to switch places with Toby. Does the Goblin King accept?
1. The NotSoPerfect Ending

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or setting in any way. I just love them so much I needed to keep it going :)

Chapter One: The not-so-perfect Ending

"But, should you need us." the little knight said.

"Yes, should you need us..." agreed the dwarf.

"I'll call. Thank you, all of you." her answer was.

These were the last sentences that were spoken between three friends with the gentle giant staying silent.

Sarah gave one last look at her three friends, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo, before turning to meet her rival who was just a room away

This man was an enigma. Someone who completely eluded Sarah. He was all that existed in night, the good and bad that always seemed to be at war with each other in the shadows. He was as vicious as a predator hot on the hunt and unpredictable as a cornered animal. And yet, he still was something that could not be fully comprehended within the time Sarah had been battling the labyrinth.

Sarah stepped into this room to meet her foe. She was struck speechless. There were no words to describe what a bizarre world she had just entered (and that's saying a lot from where she just came from)

I suppose I'll find those words, however. This room was a large cube-like room with stairs that were on all six sides. It was like a taste of insanity that came from a trip into a dream. When you think you are walking up the stairs, someone could be walking down the stairs directly underneath you if the room flip-flopped. This kind of craziness was everywhere in this room.

A twinge of excitement ran down her spine and over her immense fear upon walking in this room. That painting was her favorite and she had spent many of hours imagining herself walking through it all, defying gravity so as to explore every nook and cranny of the enchanting room. This too was an enigma.

She took a breath and began down the first stairs available, then up the next set that presented itself. She came to the edge and that's when she heard his voice crawl eerily up to ear from beneath her. Sarah looked down to see her reflection like she was looking into a pool of water.

But wait! No... it wasn't her, it was him. Walking on the other side of her stairs as if gravity decided that, for him, it would reverse itself.

Finally the Goblin King had come out of the shadows for the final showdown between him and Sarah with her baby brother, Toby, on the line.

Sarah had foolishly wished her baby brother to be taken away by the goblins and the king was more than obliged. He came to her window and laid down the rules of the game. It was obvious right away that this was not some kind of joke and Sarah had wanted her brother back the instant she realized he was gone. This made the last thirteen hours a series of obstacles that tested her intelligence while facing dangers untold, numerous fears, while still making friends along the way. This was the Labyrinth. As complicated as it's creator.

Now, it was down to the wire and Sarah had made it to the castle beyond the goblin city. There was absolutely no turning back and no telling what lay ahead of her. All she knew was that her heart was set and determined to return her baby brother home at all costs. Any cost.

After the first initial shock of seeing the frightening goblin king directly underneath her, she noticed a familiar red and white striped figure from the corner of her eye.

"Toby!" Sarah yelled, trying in vain to capture the child's attention to coaxed him over to her.

The child seemed to not even acknowledge her and proceeded to climb on the stairs he was currently on.

Sarah then took off running up and down stairs, trying to get to the destination of her toddler brother, not even realizing her trip from the wall to the ceiling to the floor. The problem was, every time she looked up from her running it seemed that Toby was even further from her than before. The prospect of making it to Toby on time seemed to be getting worse and worse.

Sarah finally got herself into the position of being above Toby and he was just a jump away. Sarah took that leap without thinking twice.

As soon as her feet left the ground the clock started to ring. The ringing filled up her ears and all of her senses became aware of the cold hard fact as she plummeted down. Time was up.

"I lost!" her head rang.

"I LOST!"

Sarah fell down, down... down...

She slowed down and gently landed on a platform. Looking around she realized the platform was suspended in a desolate space, as if the entire room she was in just shattered and sucked away all of the underground only to leave some remaining ruble floating around her. It truly felt like the end if the game.

Questions plagued her mind. Where am I? Am I still in the castle? Am I now condemned to this terrible void for losing the game? OH GOD! Where is Toby?!

As her head spun in circles without any conclusions, there was a movement in the shadows. Sarah noticed this and held her breath. She took a step back, apprehensive at discovering what it was.

Suddenly the Goblin King stepped forward, dressed in cream breeches and poet's shirt with a high collared cape shrouded in white and cream feathers. His hair was a light blond that seemed to float in the air, creating the look of the feathers continuing from the cape onto his head. His high arched eyebrows and piercing eyes gave nothing away to what lay behind them. He looked exactly as how she always imagined him during the long hours of make-believe she played during simpler times.

Ahhhh, childhood imagination. If only she could go back...

Sarah did not say anything. Her mind swam to grasp a possible way of getting her brother back even though she had heard the bell toll. Could this really be happening? Maybe the ringing was just in her head and was cause by the sudden jump to Toby.

Sarah decided she would just let him say the first words just to see what the outcome really was. To see if she had really lost her precious, precious prize.

The Goblin King sized Sarah up. Then, a hint of a smile revealed itself in the right hand corner of his mouth, making her heart drop.

"You lose" he said quietly. The Goblin king turned around to leave with his hands folded behind his back and cape billowing behind him in a state of complete finality.

Sarah's temper started to rise and her flood of questions could not be contained any more.

"What do you mean I lose?! Where is Toby?! What's going to happen to me? This isn't how the game was supposed to end!!"

The Goblin King turned around once again with no sign of any emotion on his face.

"When I say you lose, I mean just that.." he paused for effect, then added "But you will be sent home right away, while you brother will be staying here with me as another goblin in my castle." With that, he turned once again to leave.

Sarah watched the Goblin King leaving, dumbstruck. Why couldn't this be a dream?! This has to be a dream! With every ounce of her being, she closed her eyes and wished that it was nothing but a dream. But deep in her heart she knew it was true and knew she needed to act quickly be fore it was too late for Toby. There was no going back to change the events that had occurred, but maybe she could do some the events yet to be. After all, there was no way she could live with herself without having her little brother around, knowing it was she who condemned him to the life of servitude to such a cold ruler, in the form of a brainless goblin no less.

As the king walked back to the shadows from whence he came from, the void Sarah was in started melting all around her.

"Wait, please! Don't go! Take me! Let Toby go home! I'm the one who deserves to be condemned because of my actions, not him!" She screamed her plea into the darkening world around her and then... nothing.

It felt like an eternity past.

Then there was a small light in the darkness. It moved in close to her, then far away in a taunting manner, like an adult hanging candy over a small child putting it in reach and pulling away as soon as the child tries to snatch it. She suddenly had the strong feeling that getting this light was the only way to get her sanity back. But getting to the point of almost having her fingers on it, the light would shudder as if frightened then bounce playfully away from her. It would get practically to the point of disappearing, then allow her to get near to it all over again. This happened several times and she could never grasp that wisp of sanity that teased her so, try as she might.

Panic had set in. Sarah's thoughts became wordless and existed only through emotions and they were running wild and making her heart frantically race. She broke off into a wild, reckless run. No longer was she focusing on the light. All she wanted was for this to end and her primitive instincts were dictating her actions and brought her to running. Adrenalin rushing, she felt as if she were covering vast lands of darkness. Her lungs felt as if they were being stabbed by thousands of tiny knives and they soon stopped taking in enough oxygen. Still, she ran.

Soon there was nothing left in her to keep her running; She collapsed and could no longer comprehend anything.

When Sarah came to, she was on the floor of a cell. The air was moist with the smell of mold tickling her nose. She looked around and there was a cot in the corner, with a hole in the ground for going to the bathroom she assumed. There were no windows, only a door. The room resembled the typical jail cell.

Everything that had happened during her trippy experience in the nothingness and before that was as clear as day in her mind and questions of what actually took place raked her head causeing it to hurt. Did the Goblin King take the deal? Maybe he decided to just take them both and get two goblins for the price of one!

"That seems pretty in character for him", thought Sarah, reflecting on all the perils she was forced to go through just because she said something stupid in height of emotion. Doesn't he know what it's like being a teenager?! And when she told him she wanted her brother back, wasn't that just as valid of a request as wanting him taken away? It seemed to her that this Goblin King was capable of anything. He would go through any means of getting what he wanted using power, fear, and deception!

Sarah walked up to the metal door. She grabbed the handle and tried to open it, already knowing it was locked. Still, she had to try. There was a tiny window on the door that she then looked out of. There was nothing to be seen that would let her know where she was, nobody to let her know why she was there, and nothing to give her any hope of escaping.

With nothing else to look at, she shuffled to the cot to sit. She felt like she had a few bruises on her side and knew she must have been just thrown into the cell and left on the floor to wake up on her own. How long had she been there for? From the feel of it, it had been quite some time. She really didn't want to know.

Well, it had to be only a matter of time before somebody came hopefully. So she sat and waited. Instead of just thinking about the same questions over and over again, she thought about the last time she ate. How long ago was that peach? Many hours ago, and that was just a single bite of food. Her thoughts just kept going in circles during the next three hours going from wondering where she was to Toby to food to her friends and then back around.

Her friends... she should have told them she needed them. Maybe they could have helped track Toby down before that damn clock tolled...

Suddenly she heard footsteps echoing down the corridor. They were loud sure steps that walked with a casualness about them. A sudden image came to mind of her being on death row and the prison guard was coming to finish her off. She sat on the cot in silence waiting to see if these footsteps where destined for her cell. Sure enough, the cell door slowly swung open and a shaded figure stepped in slowly. The silhouette was unmistakable though. Sarah held her breath.

"You have been brought here because I have graciously and generously accepted your deal. Your brother has been sent home to grow up and live a normal life. They no longer know of your existence. You, however, will take his place and you will fear me, obey me, and I will be your master. Is there anything you do not understand?"

"Are you going to turn me into a goblin?"

"No. I do not desire you to become a dim-witted goblin. There are plenty of those maggots running around here. You will be much more entertaining as you are." at this comment Sarah looked indignantly at the Goblin King and he added with a smirk, "Don't worry Sarah, I have no desire to make you my mistress. You are too young and too... naive. Know that this will not be a ball. And this will not be out of a book. You are here for eternity so know you place and accept it. There is little else you need to be aware of. I will leave you now until I desire your services. Felgun!"

At this a goblin came in with a tray of food and drink and set it on the ground and hurried back out of the door.

"Sarah, you are free to move about the castle, but beware: should you in any way break this agreement, I will not hesitate to give you an even worse fate."

With that, he left Sarah alone to accept her fate and eat her desperately needed dinner. It was something she never had seen before in her life and could not start guessing what it was. She gave it a taste and was very surprised!

"At least the food is good." and so it seemed that would be the only light in this dark cell.


	2. Adult Inner Child

I'm still working on this chapter but to get the most accurate reviews I feel you all should be able to read this for what it is so far. Thanks for anything you can give me!

Chapter 2: Adult slash strong inner child

Things in the Underground are much different than the Aboveground. Though a person can live for eternity there, their bodies are allowed to age into adult forms. A person can grow to look like they were in their youthful late twenties for the rest of their life. The only thing that gets old here in the underground is the mind, aging with experience and gaining wisdom. It doesn't die however. That is the curse of the underground. Physical damaged could cause a sort of fading away, but until that happens a person will live on and on.

This was one of the things that came as a shock to Sarah during the next few years of living in the underground. Another thing that came to her as a shock was that the Goblin King never asked her of any service of any kind. In fact, he never sought her out in any way. His castle was a pretty large and confusing place and most of the time that Sarah was exploring, she was also looking for her way back. It was by sheer luck and not knowing where she was going that she would catch glimpses of the Goblin King. And he never stayed around to talk. It had always struck her as peculiar.

After her anger at him for being forced to live in this magical world had worn off, she started to try to follow him to see if she could catch him and ask questions. The questions most prominent were about Toby and the going ons of her family... if she could at least see them from afar somehow. But before she could even round the first corner, he always seemed to vanish into thin air.

It did bother her, but she was easily distracted. Sarah was free to roam around, visit her friends. There was plenty of nights she wouldn't even return to the castle. Her friends had pretty cozy homes to sleep in and she had no obligations to the castle.

Her favorite place to stay was at Hoggle's little underground house. It wasn't the nicest, but the company was good. It distinctly looked like a furnished oubliette with furniture that was created using fallen limbs from trees. It was near the beginning of the Labyrinth and Sarah enjoyed waking up and going out to see the fairies outside the gates. They had taken a liking to her and always delighted her when they swirled around her in greeting. Hoggle never joined in for this and would simply start making breakfast.

Then the little Yorkshire Terrier knight, Sir Didymus along with his trusty steed Ambrocious , would come over with enough energy to wake up the dead, yipping away at all of the things he had planned during the night that they were going to do for the day. Most of these things were turned away by the friends due to elaborate tasks of finding damsels in distress that he was sure was hidden in some undiscovered maze or oubliette.

Some time later Ludo would come about to see what they were going to do. He never had much to say, for he was not very intelligent. But Ludo had a heart of gold and almost more loyalty than his big hairy body could hold. He was always happy to join in whatever games the other three had planned.

With these three friends Sarah had learned all the twists and turns of the Labyrinth along with how it changed. There were some parts that never changed and some that could be a thick, smelly swamp one hour and the next be as barren as a desert. Some of the mazes had doors that could only be accessed by answering riddles and these riddles always changed.

The Labyrinth was a source of endless fun for the friends. Any game Sarah had ever played as a child, they played. With such a crazy terrain, games like hide and seek took on a whole different perspective.

They also were thinking and scheming up new games. Sometimes they would get wind of some unique flower or creature that appeared in one of the mazes from word of a worm or fairy and they would race to see who could get to it the fastest.

Their most favorite past time consisted of sneaking up on the fieries and grabbing any limb they could get their hands on and seeing how long they could keep that limb out of that fiery's reach. This was not an easy task as it was four against usually seven or eight, and to be honest, Ludo wasn't that fastest creature on two legs. The fieries were magical creatures so catching up with the friends wasn't a problem. This game was something that had upset them at first, for they had always played their own games with their own limbs. But soon they grew to absolutely love the game and would many times play practical jokes on the friends to trick them into giving the limb back. The three friends would often find themselves running down corridors they knew ran along side each other in some of the mazes, strategically throwing the limb over the wall to keep it out of reach of the devious fieries, obviously following out some carefully laid plan on where to run, when to throw. It was pretty similar to football, but violence was not used and there were no rules. This was a game of sheer fun and trickery that one could never tire of.

Such games could turn very dangerous however. The most important part of these games was knowing were not to go. This wasn't too hard. The Labyrinth contained mostly puzzles that would constantly switch up and, yes, one could get stuck in a place for quite a while until either they figured out how to get out and the others would have to come back and get them out of whatever trouble they found. One such time Hoggle had gotten stuck in an oubliette and they searched the area for hours before Sir Didymus tripped on a stone in the middle of the path and the ground opened up. After Sarah found a rope and got Hoggle out of the dark oubliette they decided to move a huge rock with the help of Ludo to mark it in hopes that they could avoid it the next time they came to that area.

As long as the friends stuck together, they were able to take care of each other.

Those things were minor things though. There were two areas that should never be entered. If you are familiar with Sarah's adventure when her brother was a stake then you would be familiar with the bog of eternal stench. This place was the Goblin King's favorite threat to people who angered or really annoyed him.

Terrible as the smell of the bog of eternal stench was, it wasn't as horrible as the other place in the Labyrinth that was completely off-limits. The most dangerous place was to be found in the very southwest corner of the Labyrinth. It was a place that could only be found when the unfortunate soul was in the wrong place at the wrong time when the only door into the place appeared before them. This place chose who it wanted to temp into it's doors also, usually picking the most hopeless and confused person that neared it's premises.

The thing that made this place somewhere you did not want to be in was simple. Upon entering you are in a maze and the door automatically seals itself. There are three holes in which three keys are needed. Two are in each of the furthest corners from you and one is in the center. This wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't for the Minotaur who guarded the treasures at all costs.

Imagine the head of a bull with think bulging scars all over the face and body. Large sagging bags under the red rimmed, deep brown eyes. It's body had the chest and arms of a large muscular man and the legs of a bull with rippling muscles. It's hooves were massive and would crush a bone the instant a one was in it's way to the ground.. It had a smell of rotting flesh that could be easily detected when it twas getting near.

This was a horrible way to end, and the Goblin King did not like going to these means to punish anyone. The bog of stench always served to get his message across just fine. He was a man who enjoyed giving a fair chance to get out of whatever predicament that he could put a person in... if they had the brains of course. If not, then that was not his fault. This was the essential concept of the whole Labyrinth that he carefully designed.

It bothered him that about this part of the Labyrinth had crept into his thoughts today. It was something that he had wanted to put in upon creating the Labyrinth, but later in years, after seeing how much he hated seeing the works of the trap, he vowed never to intentionally use it. Especially after the incident...

The Goblin King had a headache today. It wasn't like him to have such dark thoughts. But everyone has those days once in a while. His memories tormented his mind but he just had to keep reminding himself that there was nothing else he could have done...

"Lets see what she's up to today." The Goblin King said to himself.

With a slight motion of his hand, a crystal ball appeared out of thin air. An image of Sarah came into view. She looked as though she was hiding behind a statue in the northwest maze.

Nothing too interesting at the moment.

He threw the crystal back up into the air and it disappeared as easily as it came to be. Rubbing his temples, he was back in deep thought again.

For the last five years the adventures that this girl had throughout his Labyrinth had been a source of entertainment for the Goblin king. His initial intentions had been to just use her as a slave, but then he found he didn't have anything for her to do because his goblins already took care of everything. It took a long time for him to realize the perfect role for her to play in his kingdom. So, he just let her roam about freely to have fun with her friends and go on as many adventures as her heart desired. Her happiness was his enjoyment. He loved to switch things up and test out her brains to see how she reacted. Such an interesting creature...

Watching her grow and become in tune with the Labyrinth was fulfilling to him. She always seemed on the verge of mastering the elements so he needed to be on his toes as well. Like challenging a child to grow and become an adult, he began to desire her to become all that she could be at mastering his kingdom. This is how he would teach her: by always giving her a challenge with the Labyrinth each and every day she ran it. The Labyrinth was as wild and untamable as the Goblin King himself. Essentially they were of the same being.

"Well lets just see how Sarah likes a challenge today" he mused to himself.

The Goblin King walked through his castle and up to the twelfth floor. This floor held his most prized possession of all. There was a balcony that overlooked the whole of the Labyrinth. It was a wide balcony with a round edge with no railings to cover any of the view of the twisting and turning Labyrinth. There were four gargoyles who stood guard around the edge of the balcony, spread out evenly, except the two middle ones had a larger gap between them. There were dark green vines that hugged and crawled around the edge that went all the way down the side of the castle to the ground. These vines had flowers with black pedals all over them and jagged-edged leave jutting out at random places. The stone of the balcony was almost pure white, except a tinge of cream to it. It stood out from all the rest of the orange-tan castle like the sun setting at dusk.

This was an exquisitely beautiful balcony, but that was not what made it such a treasure to the king. Seated in the middle of this balcony was a large table with an exact replica of the Labyrinth that covered the entire surface. This was were he could get in close with all the details of the changes he made to the Labyrinth. Everything that happened inside the Labyrinth was because of this little replica right here. Many times if the Goblin King didn't feel like toying with it, he would just cast a spell to make the Labyrinth adjust to how events occur inside of it. For instance, if someone were to say something that did not please the king, the Labyrinth would automatically transport them to the bog of eternal stench. He use to do this quite often, having lost interest in taking time to change the Labyrinth to torment somebody with endless mazes and impossible riddles. Sometimes he would just prefer to do it all in person. But ever since Sarah had come along and defeated the Labyrinth (she won the battle but not the war), he was out here every day making adjustments and then retreating to his throne room to watch it all. He enjoyed being the manipulator, but no longer did anything in person.

Standing over his replica, he found the area where Sarah was hiding behind a statue. It was a maze of light grey stone and statues everywhere. These statues were made in tribute to all who had come through the Labyrinth and failed. There were some hundreds of years old and some thousands of years old, and some he could not remember even coming through anymore. Some perished in the Labyrinth, some gave up and left, never to return. None had succeeded because those that had, the Goblin did not like to remember. He was a man of pride after all. Either way this maze was essentially these statues with walls connecting them to make the maze. There were many dead ends, and only one path out. If one know the path then this maze would not be a problem. The Goblin King could already tell by the girl's calm of being in the middle of such a maze that she had already the way out by heart.

"Hmmm, she does look a little lonely, doesn't she? Lets give her some..._company_" he said with a bemused smile on his face as the tiny little statues in the maze started to twitch and stretch.

Suddenly a tiny screechy voice came from the open door to the castle.

"Ohhh! Your majesty! What a brilliant idea! They will have so much to talk about! Finally the statues of failure get to meet someone who triumphed over what they though was impossible and; OH! We should bring them some tea and... uhhh... what's that food that they eat aboveground... bizzzcults? Or are they biscrots..."

Before the tiny greenish grey goblin could finish his little thought, he was interrupted by a smooth, calm, and slightly annoyed voice.

"Felgun..." The little goblin jumped in shock when he looked up from his gibber jabber to find the Goblin King towering over him. He felt like a bug about to be squashed

" You would do best plug that stream of idiocy running from your loose mouth." The Goblin King turned and walked back to the replica.

"I have no intention of throwing tea parties, or sleep overs, or skipping around singing 'fa la la'." he turned back towards the little goblin and walked back to crouch down and look him straight in the eye, "You goblins keep thinking I have other intentions as such. Tell me, why is that?"

Felgun knew his master wasn't extremely mad, but still he couldn't help but feel intimidated by his regal and commanding voice. This caused some difficulty in finding his voice and he almost opted to stay quite, but the eyes of the Goblin King burning into him pressed him to answer.

"Well your highness, sir... you see... I, I mean, a few of us goblins thought that..."

Once again the Goblin King interrupted the stammering goblin with a voice that tore the squeaky goblin's apart. His patience for this interruption was growing thin and he was eager to see what was happening inside the Labyrinth.

"Did I just hear right? You goblins were _thinking_? No, that can't be right because if you _were_ thinking, then I would not have heard any of that tea party nonsense!"

"No of course not your magesty! It, uh, must have been just me being gassy! Who knows _what_ sounds I make when I'm gassy!" Felgun finished this statement with a nervous chuckle. A disgusted look swept across the Goblin King's face and Felgun reacted by throwing his arms up in the air almost looking like he had let another one escape.

"Oh, my my, heh heh, you probably don't want such a gassy goblin hanging about so I'll just go and stink up some other place in the castle." Felgun looked at the Goblin King praying to be dismissed.

"Yes, please leave. Next time do _not_ come out onto this balcony unless asked." Then the Goblin King nodded his dismissal.

"Yes of course your majesty!"

With that the little Felgun scurried away, not letting himself breath till he was out of site and earshot.

The goblin King, now left alone, shook his head. He probably could have handled _that_ better... Still if these goblins thought that he was going soft for a girl then that could lead to trouble. They were very simple minded creatures. Life to them was either work or fun, awake or asleep, leader or follower. All of them were followers, but there are always those who wanted to be leaders. To all of the goblins, though, a leader is either a powerful man, or someone to be overthrown. The Goblin King was most defiantly a man of great power but he had found that he needed to be constantly reminding these goblins of such because such simple minds have such small memories. If they were to forget how powerful he was then they would try to overthrow him. Doing such would result in him easily defeating them. This was something he had no desire to do and he was constantly reminding them... just to make sure.

But, nevertheless, Felgun did have it wrong. There wasn't going to be any tea party for Sarah today... no piece of cake to be had. The statues were going to talk with her, but there was a seed of jealousy planted in them for the person who did what they were unable to do: defeat the Labyrinth. They did not know who defeated the Labyrinth, but these statues were of people who failed so they were also obsessed about defeating the Labyrinth. It was inevitable that they would challenge Sarah. She's going to have to be pretty clever to get out of this one.

The Goblin King walked inside his castle and to the throne room. He sat down in his throne, kicking one leg over the arm of the chair, produced a crystal, and sat back to finally enjoy the show.

Meanwhile the goblin named Felgun was conversing with his fellow close goblin friend Cobgrub, discussing the previous events down by the servent's quarters.

"I tell ya, I've watched our king toy with that small Labyrinth thing and watch that girl with a look in his eye that's been around for five years now. Never seen it there before though... I just don't understand how she keeps him so interested, and he'll never admit what it is." Felgun said, not holding back his frustration.

Cobgrub looked like he just got hit in the head, trying to make a though squeeze out and finally said, "Maybe he thinks she perty! I think she's perty!"

"Maybe... I think there is more to it but I don't understand _what it is_!" For a goblin, Felgun had been doing a lot of thinking and it was starting to hurt quite a lot. "Oh well. Lets get back to work Cobgrub. I told the king I was gassy so we should clean the dining hall before dinner time because he wouldn't like one bit to see me hanging about there!"

The two goblins walked away with Cobgrub saying "Why did you say that? You know he hates it when we can't keep it in..." echoing down the hall. Little did they know that unseen ears had taken great pleasure in what was just conversed between the two goblins.

"Could it be that the time has come?" the slimy voice whispered to itself. "Yes, yes I think it has..."


	3. Challenges

Alright, sorry it has been forever and a day but I FINALLY got the third chapter written and I think you will like it very much! I do! Well I hope you do at least. Lets just say that I had trouble coming up with a solid plot line and I got it down so hopefully it will come along a lot quicker. Let me know what you think.

PS This chapter is subject to change

Inside the labyrinth, Sarah, now a young adult, crouched behind the cold hard statue wondering how long it would take Hoggle and her friends to find her. With the nature of the Labyrinth, anything was possible. They would generally stick together, but separation was a common occurrence in the twisting halls and booby trap-filled corridors of the Labyrinth. Throughout the years they had come up with safeties to keep the occurrence of disappearances to a minimum. Such would be trying to stay the mazes and areas of swamp they were most familiar with and felt were the safest, but those wrong turns were bound to happen.

This brought up problems also. Luckily, they found a solution after much exploration of the swamp area.

Located in the swamp there were small creatures that they dubbed deebles. These were about the size of baseballs, and shaped like them too. If it wasn't for the eyes and mouth and the long pointy ears, the head would not even be able to be differentiated from the body! The had long, muscular hind legs, long toes with short claws at the end and short front legs. These were creatures made for jumping, not running. They were highly sociable creatures that make extremely loud shrieks when excited.

Sarah was to discoverer of these interesting creatures by startling one and in turn getting scared out of her whits when a loud shrill came out of nowhere seemingly. The little creature immediately was curious of her and would not leave her alone after that. This seemed to also be a trait of theirs, too get overly attached to the first person they meet because when the other three found out the usefulness of this creature by Sarah's clever thinking, they went out searching for one too. If they gave the creature the slightest bit of attention the deeble got so flattered they never wanted to leave the person again.

Hoggle loved them so much that he went and tried to get two. This proved to be trouble and the deebles had little contests between each other and the loser ended up having to leave... It was obviously torn up about it and Hoggle felt absolutely terrible. He then made everyone promise not to give other wild deebles attention.

Sarah called the deeble she met Siren due to... well, you know. He liked to ride in her front pocket and would occasionally climb around her body and up to her shoulder, or just hopped around her. Right now he was fast asleep in her pocket. She wished he wasn't so she had some entertainment. Or something! This place was always so depressing. She never went through often, but seeing that the others were use to her more common hiding areas she _had _to throw a curve ball every so often!

This wasn't exactly a maze. Though there were some corners and dead ends on the edge, it seemed more of a place to remember whoever the statues were of. These statues were of strong looking warriors who stood like those who had just lost all hope. Some were on bended knees with their head hung over, others were worse off with limbs missing and pained faces... There were even some that were lying down which gave the look of a tomb.

The one the she hid behind was the only one she felt the best about. He was clad in armor and on bended knee, but he held a fist up to his heart with a proud but defiant look on his face, looking up into the sky. His face look weather worn, but youthful and a seriousness in the eyes

Sarah was suddenly struck with surprise at how lifelike those eyes looked. She could almost see what color his eyes were.

Now that was stupid thinking...

Wait, did he just blink?

"No" she thought to herself, "You're now starting to freak yourself out." Maybe it was time for her to leave. This depressing place was starting to get to her.

Just as she almost convinced herself every statue started to tremble, their pedestals cracking along the areas the statues were connected.

The first thought that was an earthquake, but the ground was hardly shaking for the amount of noise emanating all around her. Then the wild thought of her hallucinating came, but the reality of the labyrinth reminded her what she was seeing was, in all likelihood, what was really happening.

"What's going on here?" she demanded to nobody.

As she backed away from the quaking statues, they began to really move, as in limbs trying to get the rest of the body free.

All of them seemed eager to get into a standing position. They moved so quickly that it startled Sarah into tripping over a rock and falling to the ground.

Her eyes darted all around her in terror.

The statues stretched out their stony muscles as if waking from a long nap, the sound of grinding as they moved. Or were they groaning? Sarah realized that it was both. The statues had voices! She found it hard to find any strength in her legs with this realization.

Thoughts of escaping where whirling through her mind until she realized all of the statues had stopped moving and were standing still again.

"Wait... what? Are they statues again?" she wondered. Maybe this was something they just _did_ every once in a while...

That thought was also forced from her head when the grinding sound began again with the statue she was previously hiding behind. His head turned slowly until it rested staring Sarah square in the eyes. Then, grinding all around her, the others joined this action.

This was too much! Sarah found the large lump in her throat and swallowed hard to find her voice and decided to figure out what to do next. Talking would be a good start.

"What do you want?" She demanded.

No response. They stood as still as if they had been staring at that spot for centuries.

Sarah felt small and foolish still on the ground where she fell and now talking to statues, so she stood up. To her surprise, all of the heads followed her.

"What do you want?!" still scared, she was getting a bit frustrated to the quiet stares.

Finally the statue she was hiding behind spoke.

"We statues have been here for thousands of years. Waiting." He said in a menacing low-grumbling voice, "We, who have failed the Labyrinth."

This statue had thick, high-arched eyebrows with sunken eyes and a large, frowning mouth. He looked down at Sarah with disgust as he spoke to her.

"We are called the Ill-fates, for we, like you, tried to solve the Labyrinth, but met only an ill-fate. We despise those who have succeeded when we have not. Therefore, we despise you and demand that you become one of us. Only when the successful take on our misery can we be at peace. Come. Meet your ill-fate."

With that the grinding sound began, louder than ever as every one of the statues began to step off their pedestals, moving towards her.

Sarah began to panic. She was utterly surrounded and there just wasn't a place to escape. She remembered Siren in her pocket who had been napping through all of this somehow and she grabbed the fabric of her pocket and shook it to awaken the sleeping fluff ball.

"Siren! Siren I need you!" she yelled.

The little brown ball moved around and looked up at her through the pocket. He sensed the urgency of the matter and immediately crawled out of her pocket and climbed around her body like a squirrel racing up a tree and got on top of her head and sprang straight up into the air about fifty feet, bursting into a ear-splitting howl that could be heard a mile away.

The deeble fell back to the earth and immediately crawled back up to Sarah's shoulder and hid between her hair and neck, shivering.

The disruption startled the Statues and they had stopped their advance trying to figure out what just happened.

"What kind of trickery did you just work, witch?" the grumpy looking statue demanded.

"Witch?" Sarah said, offended, "I am no witch! I just alerted my friends that I'm in trouble and..." she stopped herself when she realized that it could be too late for them to come in time. The Labyrinth isn't an easy place to get somewhere quick. But never has she been so blatantly threatened of death since her first time in the Labyrinth. Most of the time when she would get in a fix, she would have time to work her way through it or wait for a friend to come.

"I'm afraid your friends will not make it in time"

Well _that _confirmed her thought...

Once again the grinding sound commenced as the statues began to close in on her.

"Stop!" was all she could think of saying as their stone cold fingers were about grab her.

Shockingly, they did stop and backed away, startled by her sudden outburst.

"Why?" the main statue asked.

"Because... you're not playing by the rules of the labyrinth!"

"What do you mean _rules_?"

"You have to give me a chance to go free." Sarah was now hoping against hope these statues would believe her. There wasn't official rules, but it seemed like the guidelines of the labyrinth were as such so maybe there was a chance...

"Hmm..." the main statue pondered this for a few seconds. "No. I don't think we will follow rules today. You must join us forever!" an evil smile crawled across the statue's face and it gave Sarah chills running up and down her spine.

"Wait!" a voice came out from the crowd of statues. Curious of the new voice, every head turned in the direction of this interruption. It was a small and scrawny statue of a man with no armor but holding a small shield. He was bald with droopy eyes and a small mouth with thin lips. Sarah recognized him as the statue that was lying down as if on his tomb.

"And for what reason do we have to wait?!" boomed the grumpy looking statue.

"Well... I uh... that is, we should give her a chance! It's only fair!" he said with a proud grin, apparently happy at coming to that conclusion.

"What do you mean? This girl has done what we failed to do! That is unacceptable and can _only_ be punished by taking our ill-fate. It is the only way." The angry stone face turned to advance on Sarah once again.

"Aw, come off it you old rock This is how you want to spend your first moments of being alive in _how _long?!" another voice said, this time it was a statue standing right next to Sarah.

" I mean, look at her! Do you really think this scrawny girl could defeat what we failed at? We all know that he went easy on her!" he gave a cocky smile and a wink to Sarah before continuing. "And I don't know about you guys but I need some excitement before I find my peace. That almost sounds as dull as being a statue anyway."

At this, Sarah had to say something.

"Excuse me, but I've been living in this place for a few years now, there isn't much that I haven't seen! Plus I'm not much of a girl anymore, thank you!"

"Quiet _girl,_ you are not included in this and you will do best to stay hushed if you want a breath for a chance to get out of here."

The statue next to her slightly shook his head.

"Well that's polite! You need to lighten up Shephid. All of that anger is going to cause you to erode... Now what to do with her."

This caused a lot of commotion throughout the crowd as they discussed amongst themselves the many ways they could test Sarah. Most of them were impossible tasks like going to the round room in the very middle of the labyrinth where the only door was in a corner that would only appear once a year and one would have to be in the right spot at the right time due it appearing for only a few seconds. Otherwise, you are doomed to go crazy circling the large round room for all eternity due to you do not need food or drink... which also has a tenancy to drive one loopy and eventually fade into a statue. Never to taste cheese again? How horrible.

Shephid looked longingly into the distance. "Mmmmm cheese..."

Everyone turned and looked at the angry face with confusion as it had just mildly softened. The round room was the part of the labyrinth that Shephip had failed in apparently.

Other ideas were brought forth where other statues had failed, all wanting to see if Sarah really was the conqueror of the Labyrinth by defeating where they had failed as well, but none of them gained much momentum and this left the statues stumped on what to do with Sarah.

Meanwhile, there was a keen eye keeping watch over the happenings inside the Labyrinth. The goblin king was in his throne room watching all the events with mild amusement. The bickering statues were taking their sweet time with any possible decision and he was starting to get impatient. Although he was impressed at how Sarah was able to stall them and change the circumstances, there was more needed here to make for an interesting adventure for her.

He made a note to himself to never expect a bunch of stone heads to come up with a consensus.

This will require some manipulation on his part...

He lazily got up from his throne and climbed the stairs up to the balcony where the Labyrinth replica sat.

The Goblin King slowly walked up the stairs, thinking about his wondrous Labyrinth. What obstacles could he use that would give today a certain specialness about it? What could he do that would really stump her...

He was completely in a different world of thought when he was pulled back, almost violently, to the physical world.

Immediately he could sense something was terribly amiss. This feeling was never wrong for him either. He knew right away that he had to exercise the utmost caution upon entering the room.

He slowly walked into the room, keeping his breathing low and calm, silent. He eyes and ears were sharp for any movement or sound. There wasn't even a rustle of the wind flowing from the open balcony doors...

As soon as he noted that it dawned that he didn't leave the door open before and he dashed though the open doors. On the stunning balcony what was wrong became alarmingly apparent. The Labyrinth replica was gone without a trace.

This was very disturbing indeed, but the Goblin King kept his demeanor as he thought out the situation.

The only other creatures that could possibly get access to his balcony unnoticed are the goblins so there was a traitor in the castle, that was most obvious. But this was no ordinary traitor, this was a very bold and clever goblin at that; for taking the Labyrinth replica, along with the Goblin King's ability to manipulate the Labyrinth indirectly was very much a huge statement.

This was also clever in the fact that the Goblin King couldn't start to openly investigate such a horrible act at the risk of losing his subjects's faith. They would see such a loss as a great weakness in their leader and would do what he had always been worried of. Rebellion was a death wish for them because the only way in their mind to replace a leader was through death. Goblins were such fickle creatures. So either he kept this matter hushed in order to keep peace in his kingdom, or everything gets destroyed for him. The choice was a no brainer...

This act was very clever also in the fact that now he could not control what was going on in the Labyrinth from his castle and he had to go in the endless corridors to now manipulate, leaving the castle less secure and giving the culprit a much easier time to create whatever havoc he/she had in mind.

The thought of it all made his blood boil for revenge and making a decision just was not an easy thing to do.

The Goblin King walked to the edge of the balcony to observe his Labyrinth, wondering where the replica could be right now... what use it was getting...

Suddenly, a thought came to him and he disappear immediately.

The Goblin King reappeared inside of the maze with the statues and what he feared had come true. The statues were already back to statues and Sarah was gone.

Just as he got there, Hoggle, Sir Didymus on Ambrocious, and Ludo came running in.

"Sarwa! Sarwa!" Ludo kept repeating over and over as he approached.

"My lady! My Ladyyyyy!" Sir Didymus tried to call over Ludo's roars and Ambrocious's barks..

"You're majesty!" Hoggle cried.

Ludo and Sir Didymus both gasped upon realizing the towering dark figure in the northwest side of the maze.

"Uhh uh... that is, well, what can we do for your grace?" the dwarf stuttered while lowering in a bow. His mind raced. It was obvious he was shaken by the presence of the Goblin King after hearing Sarah's dweeble crying out an alarm over here. This was the first time seeing the Goblin King after the first time Sarah ran the Labyrinth and something was obviously wrong.

The Goblin King's face was as menacing as ever. There was such a rage unlike anything else in his eyes. He stared the three friends down, trying to place the seriousness of his presence deep inside of them.

Suddenly his arm shot out, pointing to the southwest.

"Sarah is now in the maze of the Matador. Go and aide her. She will not make it without you. I will do what I can."

With that, the Goblin King disappeared, leaving the three friends a little confused as to the actions of the Goblin King just now, after all, the last time they saw him it was as their enemy.

But, deciding to place faith in the words of the Goblin King, they made haste towards the most dangerous part of the Labyrinth, a place they had only known through horror stories...


	4. Tea With The Matador

Hey all! So I've been sitting on this chapter for several months, unable to finish it. But I think it's as good as it gets and I really do think and hope this is the most fun chapter yet, so I hope you do as well. I've made a healthy start to chapter 5, but being as I'm in college taking seventeen credits and working 20-30 hours a week, there is defiantly no promise. As always, I'll do my best :)

"Ohhh_ why_ do we have to go?!" Hoggle whined, being very reluctant to go even in the direction of the Matador's maze. "I mean, Sarah's in trouble but why is Jareth so concerned? And if he's so concerned then why doesn't he go?" "'I'll do what I can', HA! I ain't seein' _him_ heading into the maze! That's the most anyone can do!"

"How art thou complaining when yonder maiden needs our help?!" Sir Didymus asked, so shocked by Hoggle's complaints that he almost ran into the wall, but stopped within a nose's length.

"Sarwa in twouble. Ludo not scared!" came the reply from the big yeti to Hoggle.

"Well you ain't seein' me turnin' around now, do ya?" Hoggle said, rather defensibly. "I may be a coward, but I ain't gonna let Sarah get eaten up by that monster!" He crossed his arms and looked at the ground. "I just meant that it's unfortunate that I'm more afraid of this Matador then ten Jareths!"

"Have no fear Sir Hoggle! I, Sir Didymus, will sniff out the ugly beast and once I have found him, I shall rrrrrip and tearrrr him to pieces! Ruff Ruff Ruff!!!!" At this Sir Didymus started hopping about with such vigor he again almost ran right into the wall but managed to stop within a nose's length and let out a sigh.

"It seems we need to watch carefully where we walk in this twisting maze, the walls try to hinder one's advance" he informed everyone. Hoggle just rolled his eyes at his semi-insane friend.

So they walked on. Turning here, getting to a dead end, retracing their steps and turning the other way. No one knew where they were by this point and everyone was getting very edgy. Particularly Hoggle. Every corner they turned, he would suck in his breath thinking there was going to be a raging beast on the other side. Sir Didymus's faithful companion, a large shaggy black and white dog named Ambrocious, could not seem to control his shivering nor hide his fear either.

Tension was growing and every minute, the friends expected to have their heads eaten off. Hoggle seemed to be the most nervous, always looking around in front and behind him.

He took a corner too sharp and was too busy looking behind him to realize where he was walking. He looked up just in time to stop himself from walking straight into a tall statue that looked exactly like what he thought the Matador looked like. Hoggle let out a wail, thinking it was the real thing, and hoped backwards, knocking over Sir Didymus and both fell back into Ludo. The excited Didymus thought they were under attack in the confusion and started to bark like a mad dog immediately.

Alarmed by the action, the dweeble in Sir Didymus's pocket climbed out onto the dog's head and hopped straight into the air, letting out an ear splitting howl. It fell back down, the scream still echoing in the air, and onto his head, turning about wildly trying to see what cause so much commotion. The poor thing was breathing uncontrollably and sounding somewhat like a squeaky toy. Then, like a chain reaction, the dweebles that were hiding in Hoggle's pocket and underneath Ludo's floppy ear, startled by the warning, repeated it's action, ending with three little squeaky toys sitting on top of the three friend's heads.

"Oh hush up you little fur-balls! I hate it when they do that!" Hoggle said, grabbing his dweeble of his head and stuffing it, not violently, but forcibly back in his pocket, and there it sat, slightly shaking his pocket.

"Sir Hoggle! Thou must gentle with thy furry friend! They are most helpful in times of need.. With any luck thy maiden has heard their cry and will send hers calling for us as well."

"Or our position has been given away and we'll get eaten even faster now." Hoggle moaned.

"Preposterous! Though we are getting closer, everyone knows thy Matador never leaves his dwelling. It all right, Ambroucious." Didymus patted the shivering dog walking next to him who kept looking more on the verge of turning around as the conversation progressed.

"Sarwa close. Ludo smell" Ludo lifted his head as high as he could to try and get a better scent.

"Well how do we get inta this place anyway. That door doesn't just appear for anyone ya know..." Hoggle asked

"Precisely! It will only show for those who are in the wrong place, at the wrong time, as well as being completely hopeless and confused!" Didymus said it as though it were as easy as following directions on a map. "All we need to do is keep walking in this area and a door will appear... or something of that sort. Anyway, if this Matador proves to be a coward I shall sniff out a way to get in to tell him so myself! Oh, and to save thy maiden as well."

"Yeah yeah, all ya do is talk. But for some results, now that is what I'd like to sees." Hoggle shook his head in dismay while quickening his pace, not taking note of his rising frustration. Little did he truly realize the consequences of letting this emotion get out of control. But, alas, Hoggle had never been good at control.

When there was no reply, Hoggle felt guilty for insulting his friend.

"Awww, You don't think I meant that, did ya Sir Didymus?"

He waited for an answer, but got none so he stopped walking and turned around to find noone there to make any reply at all. He felt a rush of butterflies in his stomach as he felt he knew what just happened.

"Guys?!" Hoggle called out cautiously, hoping that the feeling he had just gotten was nothing but his paranoia kicking in.

It's so hard for a little dwarf to not have paranoia in a place like the Labyrinth and Hoggle was well aware of his paranoia, but it's gotten better with friends like Sarah, Sir Didymus, Ambroucious, and especially Ludo. But somehow he knew the instance his friends were gone that things had just taken a seriously dangerous turn for him. Deep in his gut he knew that he stumbled into the Matador's maze and Sir Didymus and Ludo were not invited.

"Humph! Way to go Hoggle. Being a coward has finally forced you to be the brave one.... ohhhh why me?" Hoggle kicked a stone in even more hopelessness. This was a situation that required a person that he just didn't see in himself and this thought kept him brooding on his next move for some time: to wait for his missing friends to find a way in, or to start figuring out where Sarah was and how to get out of this way too dangerous of a place.

Neither were too appealing.

The walls of the maze were no longer a friendly yellow stone, but a cold grey stone with a fork at the end. He cautiously approached the intersection, listening for even so much as a rustle ahead, wishing Didymus's keen ears and nose were here.

Sir Didymus...

The thought of finding Didymus or Ludo was completely out of the question: he knew they would not be allowed in with their confounded iron wills and all. And there was no way he was going to send his dweeble, Mug, to signal them because he might also signal the Matador as well. He suddenly realized why Sarah didn't respond to the freaked out dweebles earlier.

Sarah...

He realized it was now up to him to save Sarah. And pass the quest of the maze somehow so they could get out. And he had to do this alone. Oh boy.

But do it he must! So, swallowing all of the doubt and uncertainty, Hoggle puffed out his chest in defiance of all the forces against him and poked his head out into the fork and looked to the right. It was a path that almost immediately turned into a dark and creepy cave. A cold rush of wind came from the cave as if to say "You don't even want to know!" And Hoggle agreed. So he looked to the left and was relieved to see narrow, but sunny path made of hedges.

Hoggle set down the cheerful looking path, almost feeling like this might not be so bad! But still, caution is _not _a bad idea. Another corner was coming up and as he slowly poked his head around this one, Hoggle almost immediately realized he had chosen the wrong path and ducked back behind the corner just in time, for there, in the middle of a clearing that resembled a small court yard was the Matador, hunched over and distracted by something it was eating.

Everything they had ever heard of how the Matador looked was very true, although seeing it in person was a lot more frightening! And nobody mention the putrid smell that emitted from his body! That smell was what gave Hoggle the warning. This Matador seemed like a product of the bog of stench, or the bog was a product, or something. It just smelled horrible either way and Hoggle was very familiar with associating that smell with horrible things.

Hoggle stood frozen in his spot, in a kind of trance staring at the beast. He could feel shivers tingling up and down his spin and no thought came to him except the hope that whatever the creature was eating, it wasn't Sarah.

It took a surprising amount of control to not run up and find out if it was, but unless he wanted to be next, Hoggle needed to get out of there. Fast.

Slowly Hoggle turned around, careful not to even breath; for there was no telling how sensitive those large scarred ears were. Every single pebble underneath his feet seemed to grind louder than the cleaners echoing through a tunnel and he thought even the clothes rubbing against his skin as he moved were giving him right away.

But the Matador did not stir from his crude meal, his glutenous ways were too strong and overpowered any of his senses.

After much careful footwork, Hoggle was able to make it around the corner and change utmost caution into quiet tiptoeing. When he felt it was safe enough he let a sigh out and walked at a more relaxed pace.

Hoggle soon realized that he was back where he started and was again faced with the same decision of where to go. Since the nicer looking path had obviously disqualified itself, he made up his mind to brave the tunnel, or cave if there wasn't an opening at the end...

Suddenly another gust of cold wind came out from the depths of the tunnel and now seemed to be inviting him in and giving a warning. Hoggle knew he had to get moving right away. He forced his legs into and apprehensive jog and as fear grew in him, he broke out into as fast of a run as his little legs could carry him, not daring to look back for somehow he knew the Matador had just finished his meal and was heading back to his layer that Hoggle was now heading head first for.

"How the hell do I know this though?" the thought briefly ran through his mind in his race, but there were more important issues right now. Like where to hide that the intelligent, and possibly keen-nosed beast would not be able to find him because there wasn't going to be any solving of a maze when panicked like this.

Through the cave, the air started to feel damper and more still than ever. Nothing causing a breeze to be found anywhere. The weight of the sickeningly moist air cause the frantic dwarf to slow his run into an apprehensive jog again and finally to a stop. Hoggle looked around at the wide, low ceilinged, hollow of the cave he was standing in. The smell of the place pretty much plastered a sign that said "Welcome to the home of the Matador, Please wait to be eaten" on the wall.

It really was starting to smell like the bog of stench as he walked around as well and this wasn't making things any easier. The smell was almost to the full bog strength and looking around, Hoggle saw the reason. There was a bubbling pool in the corner that looked like a mini bog itself right in a dark corner and there seemed to be an even smaller tunnel type thing that it seemed to flow into.

Hoggle hardly had time to wonder what the whole picture was here when he heard a low growl echoing down the long tunnel. Panic set in and Hoggle desperately looked around for a place to hide. He remembered an intersection a little ways back towards the entrance.

"No way! I ain't going back there!" he thought to himself, and continued to frantically search.

But as far as Hoggle could see, there was no safe place to hide, Sarah was probably long gone, either as the Matador's recent lunch or was smart and didn't try to hide in the Matador's lair of all places!

"That's the last time I listen to gusts of wind!" Hoggle thought ridiculously to himself, shaking his head in dismay that he even was thinking this.

With all hope lost and the growling getting nearer, Hoggle tried his best to hide in a shadow of a stalagmite, still blatantly showing. It was almost time. The Matador was only a few seconds away.

"So sorry Sarah, Sir Didymus, Ludo, and ever Jareth. I Failed everybody!" Hoggle said quietly to himself, feeling nothing but self pity and bitterness.

"Hoggle!" came the frantic whisper of Sarah's voice to Hoggle's head.

"Oh great, now I'm hearing her disappointment in my head before I die..."

"Hoggle!!" came Sarah's voice again.

"Stop it imaginary Sarah! I don't need two voices in my head to bring me down any lower!"

"No, Hoggle, it really is me! It Sarah! Will you just look up?!"

This time Hoggle realized that the voice was outside of his head and looked up in the direction he thought the direction was from. It came over from the mini bog of stench and for the first time he realized there was a tunnel behind it. And inside that tunnel was a head poking out with an arm firmly planted over her nose. Sarah was hiding inside the tunnel!

"Sarah? Oh Sarah it's really you!!" Hoggle choked out, not being able to believe his eyes.

"Yes it's me! Now get over here quick!"

Hoggle snapped back to reality and realized the immediate danger at hand. Though that was the last place he wanted to be in seeing Sarah in there gave him that extra boost to go inside what has to be the most unpleasant place in the world! He was sure of it, but, as the old saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures. So Hoggle got to his feet without further thought and booked it for the tunnel, only to almost get knocked back to the ground. It no longer felt like oxygen was getting to his lungs, but a sludge of the most foul of substances one can't imagine. Hoggle had no choice but to empty his upset stomach into the mini bog several times.

While he was trying to handle such a task of being able to even breath right, Sarah sat transfixed on the happenings outside of the tunnel. When Hoggle regained some air, he looked from Sarah to outside of the tunnel, the panic of the moment coming back to him. This tunnel wasn't good shelter, for it got smaller quite quick and left them partially exposed.

Suddenly the Matador turned and started to head straight towards them. Hoggle sucked in his breath and felt panic grip his entire body. As the Matador came closer Hoggle realized to his surprise that it wasn't coming in that direction because of them. It was coming over to the bog itself. The Matador came up to the edge of the bog and turned around. What happened next is not for the faint of heart. The creature crouched down like a camper in the woods and relieved himself right into the bog!

Both Sarah and Hoggle had to turn away right when they realized what was happening and start gaging and dry heaving. Everything previously experienced with the bog just made sense, though it be not the way they would have liked to have found out!

It seemed that that was the only thing the Matador had to do in the cave, for it left as soon as it finished.

When they felt it was absolutely safe, Sarah and Hoggle bursted out of the tunnel, gasping and heaving, trying to get in as much fresh air as possible. Hoggle was laying on the ground while Sarah was standing with her hands on her knees.

"As if... the bog... could get any... more _disgusting_! I think we both know where that tunnel drains into!" Hoggle could only breathlessly talk in between gasps.

"Well... at least... if I ever wanted to start a garden... I know where to get the world's greatest fertilizer!" Sarah managed to whisper.

"Whats... fertilizer?"

"Never... mind." Sarah shook her head, remembering that was something from her old life. It's been a while since she had thought about her old life. "This is not the time to reminisce !" she thought to herself and concentrated on getting her breath back.

"Hoggle... Hoggle we got to go before that creature comes back!" Sarah walked over to her friend and helped him get into a sitting position. "You ok to get up?"

Hoggle nodded his head, "Yeah I can get up myself!", refusing any more help from Sarah.

"Hoggle what's up with you? The only way to get out of here is to work as a team!"

"Well I think you took our game of hide and seek a little too seriously Sarah! What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Hoggle, this is neither the time nor place! We have to get out of here!"

"And just how do you suppose we do that?!"

"Well... I don't know really..."

Just then, a sudden gust of cold wind came from the tunnel they were previously hiding in. With that gust came a promise of a way out without having to face the danger of solving the impossible maze. Both Sarah and Hoggle knew instantly what they needed to do, but neither wanted to do it. It would mean crawling through a tiny tunnel with a stream of _you know what _running through the middle. There was a ridge on each side perfect for one knee and hand to be on each side, which was the real life-savor because if you touched the bog, then the stanch would be with you for the rest of your life.

There will be no details for this next part, for it was an experience such as those one never talks about again. It is something one tries to just plain forget due to the horrible sensations that the thought itself brings to one's stomach. Just know that there were many moments both reconsidered going back into the maze to face certain death on a fool's hope instead. The only thing that kept them going was the seemingly magical revitalizing gust of fresh wind that came through every time both were about to collapse or turn around.

As they both suspected, they emerged out of the tunnel and into the Bog of Eternal Stench. The tunnel was well hidden by the roots of a large and creepy tree with think, winding roots. Both collapsed upon a large root that served as a platform off the tunnels, as they now were getting a sudden large dose of oxygen. The bog smelled of roses compared to the tunnel right about now.

When they both had recovered, Sarah turned to hoggle with a apologetic look on her face.

"Hoggle, I..." she tried to find the right words to say to make up for putting her friend through so much, but she was interrupted.

"Hows abouts we don't talk about it until we get back to my place, k? I'm sure there is a good reason for all this, but I want to be home, relaxed and fed before I hear it. Besides, I bet Didymus and Ludo are already back and waiting for us."

With that, Hoggle started walking, leaving Sarah with a smile and grateful for such a good friend.

With a wave of relief that home was not too far, Sarah hurried to catch up with her friend.

And so the Bog of Eternal Stench became empty of life, except for a few little critters that could survive there, and no longer was there a need for magical eyes to keep vigil of the going on's of the day. The crystal ball was popped and the missing mini-labyrinth was put away for the night and good and evil called it a night along with the friends.


End file.
